In the sports of baseball and softball, it is important for players to maintain and improve their skills in a variety of activities, especially pitching and batting activities. To improve pitching and batting skills it is desirable for athletes to condition their muscles, as well as their mental processes, to achieve greater speed and distance when throwing or hitting the ball.
In baseball and softball, as well as in a variety of other sports, it is well known that physical and mental training can be enhanced through the use of a weighted training object. Thus, previous efforts to enhance the training of baseball and softball players have included the use of integrally weighted bats, such as the bat disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,926 to Owen, for batting warm-up. Likewise, separate weights are also commonly used which can be attached to regulation bats to help a player increase his or her batting power.
In a variety of sports, including baseball and softball, weighted balls have also been developed, most commonly to achieve a further carry to the ball in flight. However, a number of weighted baseballs have also been developed for the purpose of athletic training. More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,055 to Corley, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,793 to Lombardo, each disclose a weighted baseball and/or softball useful as a warmup device, particularly for pitchers. Both the Corley and Lombardo balls have a metallic, weighted core, as well as a cortex of dense packing or filling material and outer cover similar to the packing and cover of a regulation softball.
The weighted training balls of Corley and Lombardo are specifically designed for use in baseball pitching and throwing exercises, and are poorly adapted for use in baseball batting exercises. Only a slight amount of additional weight is recommended for pitching and throwing exercise, as excessive weight can cause over strengthening, loss of control and injury. Therefore, the weight which would have to be added to provide an effective training ball for batting exercises would be prohibitive of use for pitching training.
An additional drawback of the training balls described in the Corley and Lombardo patents is that the apparatus and materials required for the balls' construction are unduly expensive. The tri-layer design, including the metal core, filler and cover, imposes considerable costs over molded composite ball designs widely known in the art. One example of such a design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,378 issued to Molitor, which describes a softball having a core of cellular polymeric material and a cover of vinyl resin. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,019 issued to Morgan describes baseballs and softballs made of a urethane foam core surrounded by a cloth cover. In a more simple and economic design, U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,304 issued to Smith discloses a homogenous polyurethane baseball manufactured in a single operation.
Yet another problem which attends the use of prior art, weighted baseballs and softballs is that such balls are poorly adapted for use in conventional pitching machines. Pitching machines, such as the "Coacting Wheel Ball Projecting Device" of U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,827, issued to Smith, are particularly useful in batting training, because they pitch a large number of balls rapidly and accurately, and can be employed for long periods, thereby avoiding several drawbacks present when a human training partner is used. However, the above described weighted balls and conventional baseballs are made of easily worn materials and suffer excessive wear and tear when used in pitching machines. Moreover, the surface irregularities caused by the stitching or artificial stitching of conventional and prior art weighted balls interfere with pitching accuracy of the machines, because the motive wheels which impel the balls catch unevenly on their irregular surfaces. For the same reason, most prior art balls tend to hang up in conveyor troughs of the machines due to the friction of their coverings and the presence of stitching.
In view of the above, there is a need in the baseball and softball industries for a weighted athletic training ball specifically designed for batting exercises.
A further need exists for a weighted batting training ball which has a simple construction and is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
Yet another need exists for a weighted batting training ball which is durable and non orientation sensitive for accurate use in conjunction with conventional pitching machines.